


Castle of Water

by Sugar_and_Salt



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Mild Angst, Romance, selective mutism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 10:39:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9604391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar_and_Salt/pseuds/Sugar_and_Salt
Summary: One day, Chanyeol wakes up with a stranger curled up next to him. They're both clothed, at least, but that only raises more questions, doesn't it?





	

**Author's Note:**

>  
> 
> _♪ This fic was originally written for winterdynasty in the[yeolliepopday](http://yeolliepopday.livejournal.com/) exchange 2016 ♪_

 

✿

  
Chanyeol wasn't a morning person. Like so many other people, he found no pleasure at all in being roused and expected to face a new day with all its duties and possible conflicts. It didn't help that as a night owl, he tended to stay up way too late to be anything above physically present in his morning lectures.

 

Chanyeol was a dreamer, though, in every sense of the word. When the soft sounds of his alarm lulled him into reality, he awoke to the faint scent of salty water and warm, golden sunlight heating the back of his neck - a weak echo of the dream he'd just been ripped out of. This drowsy state between sleep and reality, when the blanket was the most comfortable and a dream was lingering on the tip of his thoughts, were the _best_. There was simply nothing more comforting than cuddling the blankets closer, pressing his face into a cool part of the cushion and drifting off to chase after that wisp of smoke his dream had left behind-

Chanyeol's hand brushed something hard that definitely wasn't his pillow, and with furrowed brows, he tried to open his still burning eyes, only to see _something_ in his bed.

"Oh, fuck-"

With a start, he'd backed away from what his muddled mind could only identify as something similar to a big dog, and hit the back of his head on a low shelf that rattled accusingly.

With a raspy, pained whimper, Chanyeol rubbed the back of his head, heart racing but eyes still teary with a mix of sleep and now pain. He viciously rubbed them, only to realize that there was a guy lying in his bed. Not some weird animal or monster that escaped his dream. Just a boy around his age in mint green pajamas dotted with white bunnies, curled up so tightly that he looked like an oversized kitten, messy strands of bordeaux hair and pale arms hiding his face.

There was. A stranger. In his bed.

Chanyeol was too dumbfounded to react. Maybe his first instinct should have been to push the boy out or at the very least wake him up and demand an explanation, but Chanyeol was an almost painfully nice person, to the point where it exceeded being a compliment and could be gratuitously listed as weakness.

 _There has to be an explanation for this_ , was his first thought.  
 _You're freaking out over nothing, like you usually do_. _Surely, he's a friend of Kyungsoo’s._

A look upwards told him that his roommate - a calm and quiet fellow literature student - had already risen and was currently showering, judging by the sounds coming from the bathroom. Moving would mean he'd have to somehow step over the peacefully sleeping bundle that hadn't moved an inch during his outburst. Chanyeol took the opportunity to calm his racing heart and try to remember whether he could possibly recognize this guy.

On closer inspection, he did look somewhat familiar, but he'd definitely never talked to him before. Had he maybe drunkenly stumbled into his room by mistake, ignored the generously sprawled out 185 centimeters of human and just squeezed himself on the bed as well? Could anyone be that drunk? Chanyeol quickly amended that thought, though, remembering the last party he'd attended.

The bathroom door opened, and Kyungsoo padded inside, already clad in his usual (black) attire, rubbing his damp and equally black hair with a towel. His hairdresser had accidentally cropped it so short that drying it didn't take much more than that anymore.

" _Kyungsoo_!" Chanyeol whispered harshly, complete with a few wild flailing gestures towards the peacefully sleeping boy, " _who is this_?"

The other stopped in his tracks, raised a brow and... shrugged.

"I thought he was a friend of yours or something."

Chanyeol blinked. Alright, enough of this.

He cautiously shook the other by his bony shoulder, repeatedly calling out impatient 'Hey's, joined by the occasional 'Wake up'. It took a bit, but eventually, movement trembled through the body and Chanyeol felt like yawning merely by seeing the way the tight bundle unraveled, long limbs stretching with little cracks. Instead of showing anything similar to Chanyeol's shock, the boy lazily flopped over to his stomach, stretching a little further before sleepily blinking up at him.

Now he recognized him as someone whom he'd seen around the dorm before. It was the boy with the strict-looking eyebrows and the pointy little nose. His features were pretty distinct, but he’d never even shared a lecture with him. He was very much a stranger to Chanyeol.

"Look," he began unsurely at the rather unfazed look on the other’s face, "no offense, but this is my bed."

The boy gave him a curt nod, as if that was really obvious.

Well, now Chanyeol knew that he was apparently the type of person to crawl into a stranger's bed and not even feel a little bothered by it. Kyungsoo had the nerve to quietly snort, probably over Chanyeol's unintelligent expression as his sleepy mind tried to gather his wits.

"Well. You can't just come here and sleep in my bed?!" he half-asked, half-complained. Why did this have to happen to him in the first place? This was absurd.

The boy had the guts to furrow his brows unhappily, as if Chanyeol had done something to upset him. Which was definitely a twisted take on the current happenings.

"Could you please, I don't know, _leave_?" he asked in exasperation. With a faint, unhappy pout, the boy crawled to his feet with a poorly concealed yawn. And just like that, he did leave, with a small wave towards them. He even closed the door behind him with a soft click.

For a few seconds, Chanyeol stared at the almost offensively huge One Piece poster they had taped to their door from the inside (one of the many things he and his roommate could agree on, despite a few glaring differences between them). Then he looked over at Kyungsoo, who seemed less shocked, but mildly intrigued nonetheless. Good, that meant he had at least not imagined any of this.

"So... are we gonna talk about this _happening_?" he asked, eyes flitting from Kyungsoo and back to the door. "More than he did, at least? That guy didn't even apologize? I can't be the only one to find this weird."

"Well, I would've been more surprised if he had talked to you," Kyungsoo simply said, throwing the barely damp towel into the bathroom to pull a hoodie over his head.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sehun doesn't talk, you never noticed?" Kyungsoo asked back calmly, and Chanyeol flopped down into an oddly twisted and really not that comfortable position with a tired, confused groan.

"You know him?"

"Well, knowing might be a little far-fetched. He's just that guy who doesn't talk."

Chanyeol scrunched his brows together, watching from his tilted position how Kyungsoo casually rummaged for the folders he needed.

"As in he _can't_ talk?" he asked, but Kyungsoo made a denying sound in the back of his throat.

"As in he simply won't. I've seen him talking to his Chinese friend, I think. It's just a very selective thing."

Chanyeol hummed in understanding, way too lazy to actually nod.

"That's unusual."

A few seconds ticked by, before Chanyeol's brain caught up with the situation.

"Why do I even care, this guy broke in and snuck in my bed overnight! That's fucking creepy!"

 

 

That evening, Chanyeol was dead-tired from a long day of lectures and writing essays, so he simply plunged into his bed, the possibility of the incident with Sehun repeating itself barely on his mind. Chanyeol may be dramatic, but he wasn't completely illogical. Coincidences like this wouldn't occur twice in a row. Still, while drifting off to sleep, he couldn't help toying with the vague, blurry idea of not sleeping alone. Surely it would be nice, right? Having someone to fall asleep next to? Not like this, of course, but still...  
  


❀

  
Chanyeol was a dreamer. And in his dream, he stood in a scenic place he'd never seen before. He was standing on the side of an alley, though instead of a street separating him from the other row of trees, a slim, silvery river was glittering in the sunlight, a few meters below him. Everything was covered in soft, green grass, tempting him to lay down on the slope, listening to the river below and watching the blossoms above sway in the wind.

They were of a pure white, even though they seemed to be cherry blossoms. That wasn't right, Chanyeol thought. And because he was a dreamer, he aimed to correct this state. He stared at them, concentrating on the color he wanted to see... and soon a soft pink washed over the petals. In the blink of an eye, the surreal surroundings were dipped in a rosy color.

He smiled to himself. That was more like it.

Someone gasped audibly, and Chanyeol whirled around. It was the boy, Sehun. Standing a few steps away in casual attire, he was currently staring at him with wide eyes.

Why would he dream of Sehun? Alright, maybe it wasn't too strange, considering last night's incident.

"You changed them."

Chanyeol heard the awed words clearly, even though they were exhaled at most. This was new. Was this what his voice sounded like? No, Chanyeol thought, it was probably the way he imagined his voice would sound like. Slightly nasal, surprisingly high, but not unpleasant to the ear.

"Oh, _now_ you're talking," he only said, still feeling rightfully miffed over their previous encounter. Dream Sehun had the decency to look a little sheepish, though he obviously couldn't help stepping closer to him, anyway.

"How did you change them?"

Chanyeol shrugged.

"It's just a dream, something made up by my mind. It would be weird if I had no control over it."

Sehun only continued to stare at him in something akin to child-like wonder. When he made no other move of his own, Chanyeol decided not to mind him. Maybe he'd just disappear at some point - it wouldn't be a first for sure. So he sank down into the grass, back resting on the soft and cushy surface as he gazed into the blue, blue sky.

A few moments passed until he heard Sehun plop down next to him. Chanyeol craned his head to look up at him. The boy was still looking at the sea of petals with slightly parted lips.

"Why are you even in my dream?" Chanyeol asked, more to himself than anything. To his surprise, Sehun showed neither surprise nor confusion. He simply lay down next to him, albeit keeping a polite distance.

"Because it's nice here," he said quietly. Chanyeol wanted to laugh at his attitude, but it wasn't a lie. It really was nice. Then again, dreams were supposed to be.

With this thought in mind, he just lay there, letting a soft breeze caress his face with Sehun by his side, who eventually rustled to his side, curled up together...

 

✿

  
Chanyeol awoke to the warmth of Sehun, huddled close enough to graze his side.

He flinched and cursed, though he did not hit his head this time.

"You! Again? What is this?" he whined, looking around for Kyungsoo. He was nowhere in sight. Great.

"Did he even return? Did he leave without locking the door?" he asked, clearly not expecting an answer from the sleeping boy. He shook him awake once again and shooed him out, a little more indignant this time.

And again, Sehun obeyed without a word.

 

The next time it happened was a few days later, when Chanyeol had left the dorm late for a trip to the convenience store and forgot to lock the door upon returning. He swore to himself to be more careful in the future, but due to unforeseen, miraculous circumstances, Sehun always seemed to find his way into Chanyeol's bed one way or another.

He had felt frustrated and even angry, but it was a little difficult to be annoyed with someone who wouldn't talk back. Sure, he could get even more angry, but whenever he seriously raised his voice, the boy seemed to shrink and look genuinely sorry, and Chanyeol hated himself for feeling bad about that. Chanyeol could obviously report him, too, but if this guy had some mental issues, he'd forever feel guilty over ruining his academic career over something this harmless.

After all, it wasn't like Sehun was _doing_ anything, like trying to touch him inappropriately - he didn't even dare to tug at his blanket. For some reason he just seemed really, really eager to sleep in his bed.

Chanyeol was genuinely at a loss. It didn't help that he felt a little weird whenever he woke up, like he'd dreamt of something worth remembering.

 

❀

  
Chanyeol wriggled his toes in perfect, white sand, enjoying the vast, cloudless sky and turquoise ocean caressing the shore not too far ahead. The sand felt warm and pleasant to the skin, just like the vivid, yet not overwhelmingly blinding sunrays. A perfect scenario, a perfect dream. He only stopped in his slow, deliberate steps when the water was gently brushing his ankles, looking back over his shoulder.

"What, are you afraid of the water?"

"I'm not," Sehun protested, though his steps were obviously shaky as he came closer. Just like Chanyeol, he was wearing shorts and a simple T-shirt, deep green absorbing the light around it. Chanyeol chuckled, flicking a bit of water at him with his foot. Sehun actually flinched, and shot him an accusing glare, but Chanyeol wasn't concerned. Sehun had become a common part of his dreams, though only a part of his brain had registered it. Whenever he'd encounter Sehun, it came as a surprise and yet it didn't. Dreams were odd like that.

The pale boy slowly inched forwards, feet dipping into the water. Chanyeol observed him for any signs of discomfort, though these kind of details were usually smudged in dreams. His bright eyes were narrowed, fixated on the water in something akin to nervous anticipation, brows furrowed, bottom lip turning white from where his teeth dug into it-

With a tiny yelp, Sehun jumped back and away from the water, only to stumble and land in the sand. Alarmed, Chanyeol looked down to see a wisp of black in the water, quickly dissipating. With a confused frown, he hesitated for a second, before deciding to tend to Sehun first. He knelt down next to him, one hand rubbing his bony shoulder. He looked... terrified.

"You hate water that much?" he asked as softly as possible, and the boy viciously shook his head in reply.

"No, but... no water today? Please?"

He still didn't talk much, but he did talk - that was worth something. Chanyeol wasn't a cruel person by any means, and with a determined swipe of his hand, the ocean was gone, leaving behind nothing but vast, white sand.

"Better?"

Sehun craned his head to nuzzle his face into Chanyeol's collarbones. It tickled, in the nicest way possible - where the sensation spread slowly, but kept prickling the most intensely where the tip of his nose traced out the dips and grooves of his collarbones, pushing below the collar of his shirt.

"Yeah. Thank you."

 

✿

  
"Okay, this is enough," Chanyeol began on an early Sunday morning where he had yet again awoken to a sleepy Sehun, this time clad in pajamas showing adorable calico kittens. They did little to deter him, though. This couldn't go on. He was almost expecting Sehun by now, and yet it still came as a shock to wake up like this.

"Why do you keep doing this?!" he asked a barely-awake Sehun, who was sitting across him, half-tangled in the blankets as he was rubbing his eyes. He looked a little miserable, but Chanyeol _felt_ miserable, too. He needed an explanation, and he told him as much.

"Just give me a reason. If I was that much of a jerk, I would've kicked you out and reported you ages ago! Just be honest with me."

Sehun looked at him hesitantly, obviously torn between fight or flight. Though in his case, fight was probably not even an option. He shrugged with an averted gaze, but Chanyeol wouldn't have it this time.

"Come on, this is driving me nuts! I can't even go to sleep in peace anymore, cause I fear you'll _somehow_ sneak in during the middle of the night like a creep! I keep wondering who else could just break in and it's really, really concerning, okay?" he continued, trying to reason with the other. Sehun shook his head, but Chanyeol was no mind reader, and slowly running out of patience, too.

"No? What 'no'? You don't sneak in? No one will break in? It's not concerning? Look, you gotta _communicate_ with me, otherwise I won't get you."

He looked close to tears now, and while Chanyeol did feel sorry for that, he couldn't just let things continue like this forever. Sehun opened his mouth, and it was almost comical how Chanyeol held his breath in anticipation. He watched plush lips close, just to part again, no sound escaping them.

He tried it again, attempted to say something, but all he managed was a small, choked sound that had him flush a bright red almost immediately, hand flying up to cover his mouth.

Chanyeol tilted his head, staring curiously.

"You _can_ talk, can't you? Cause if not-"

That very moment, the door opened, Kyungsoo casually strode in, and Sehun pointed at him urgently with the hand that wasn't lingering on his lips.

"Huh? What about Kyungsoo?"

Kyungsoo shot them a mildly confused look - the sight of the two together in one bed had become somewhat normal, so without them addressing him, he probably wouldn't have bat an eyelash at them at this point.

When Sehun just insistently pointed again, Chanyeol turned to his roommate slash friend.

"What about you? Do you know anything?"

"About what?" the other asked nonchalantly, but Chanyeol had known him long enough to notice the way he avoided eye contact as he swung his book bag on a chair.

"Please don't play this game with me, Soo. This isn't funny anymore..." he whined, knowing that ultimately, Kyungsoo did have a soft spot for him. He wasn't wrong.

"Well," he caved in, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed in discomfort, "I may have let him in once or twice."

Chanyeol gaped at him.

"You did _what_?"

Why did all these conversations have to happen immediately after waking up?

Kyungsoo didn't look apologetic, but the fingers kneading his upper arms gave him away.

"Just sometimes. Whenever I got back late, he was waiting in front of our room, sitting on the floor like a lost puppy," he explained with a tinge of defensiveness, "he wouldn't leave, even if I didn't let him in. I figured you wouldn't mind all that much."

Really, for a few seconds Chanyeol could do nothing but stare.

" _I wouldn't mind_?" he asked slowly, even looking at Sehun in exasperation, who should really be the last person to turn to right now. "I lay awake for nights, too paranoid to fall asleep because I was waiting for someone to sneak in," he said in a dangerously blank voice that Kyungsoo countered with the signature deadpan tone of his own.

"And yet you always fell asleep sooner or later. Alright, I'm sorry," he began, changing directions with his palms raised in defense. "I misinterpreted the situation. I won't do it again. I'll go and buy some breakfast now, you want anything?"

"Yeah, anything sounds great," Chanyeol mumbled, still shaking his head about Kyungsoo's assumptions, though he knew he'd forgiven him already. Without further ado, Kyungsoo grabbed his wallet and keys to leave the potentially sticky situation behind.

Kyungsoo wasn't usually like this, what had he been thinking? That Chanyeol and Sehun had some weird on-off relationship going on? The thought alone had him groan in frustration. He shouldn't have told him about his rather flexible preferences.

A look upwards told him that Sehun was still sitting on his bed, still chewing on his lip and still looking like the human embodiment of guilt.

"You really don't wanna tell me, huh?" Chanyeol said, much more calm this time around. It was a lot less freaky if he at least knew how the boy had gotten inside.

"You can't expect me to let you crawl into my bed without a word of explanation, you know?"

Chanyeol looked at him, searched the other's face for something, anything, and while he found nothing, it seemed to have an effect on Sehun, who finally slid off his bed. With two long strides, he had reached Kyungsoo's desk, hands rummaging around until he found a pen.

Chanyeol just sat there, staring at him like at a sensitive animal, not daring to make a move. He was too curious to ruin whatever was going on now.

Sehun padded towards him, pushed a little sheet of paper in his hands and bustled out of the room faster than he'd ever done before.

Chanyeol looked down at it, turning it around to reveal four words scrawled in smudged, black ink.  
  


_I can't sleep alone._

 

That night, Kyungsoo went to bed early, and Chanyeol kept their door slightly ajar while he was reading in bed. He read until the small stripe of light widened a tiny bit as the door was pushed open just enough for a pair of bright eyes to peek inside. With a barely concealed sigh, Chanyeol placed the book aside and scooted towards the wall, patting the space next to him. He had never seen Sehun _smile_ like that.  
  


❀

  
Chanyeol stared thoughtfully into the fireplace. It was upside down, since he was lounging on his back, enjoying the plush carpet that felt suspiciously like a mattress.

"You're lucky I never remember you when I wake up," he hummed, enjoying the warmth fanning over his face.

"Why? Because you'd throw me out, then?" Sehun asked from his left. The boy was lying on his side, facing him. He curled up less tightly now that he felt accepted enough by Chanyeol, though a tinge of wariness was still left.

"Because I'd remember your voice."

It was funny, how he could feel the boy stiffen up, could feel it in the atmosphere. But this was Chanyeol's dream, so it was only right for him to feel it on the brink of his senses.

"What would that change?"

Chanyeol shrugged lazily, looking over to gaze outside the illogically high window. An inky black sky filled the whole world beyond the glass, sprinkled with white stars. It looked way too magical to be real, but Chanyeol liked to marvel at sights that reality refused him.

"Well, for one it's a nice voice, and it would make me want to hear it for real."

Sehun made a small, unhappy noise that Chanyeol countered by leaning over and playfully nudging his arm with his nose.

"Relax. I can hardly force you to talk."

"And the other concern?" Sehun asked instead, voice a little smaller as he kept his face hidden behind his arm. Chanyeol scrunched his brows in thought. It was a little complicated. Focused thinking in a dream could be a hassle, and while Chanyeol excelled at it, this was a new direction of thinking.

"I... don't know," he started slowly, eyes absently seeking the elegant twirls of gold framing the window, "it's strange. Something about this is strange. It's like we have a whole different bond in dreams, and I'm only left with a vague aftertaste when I wake up. I dream too frequently of you, it has to _mean_ something. It makes no sense that my mind would come up with a person this detailed and vivid..."

"Dreams are just dreams," Sehun said, shuffling until Chanyeol felt the other rest his forehead against his shoulder carefully.

Far above them, Chanyeol imagined seeing a crack in the window. Without a sound, it seemed to grow, too slowly for him to catch the progress with orbs glazed with dreams.

 

✿

  
When he woke up with the certainty that Sehun would be there, Chanyeol felt... better. Good, even. It was the fifth night Sehun had spent in his bed with official permission, and while this arrangement was still odd and highly unconventional, Chanyeol was a rather open-minded person by nature. As long as he knew where he stood, he could come to terms with the strangest situations. And while Sehun was beginning to take up more space (and more of his blanket, which was large enough for two, fortunately), it really wasn't all that bad to wake up close to someone. Sehun was becoming a more familiar presence with every passing day. He was still a stranger, technically, but somehow Chanyeol couldn't help thinking that he felt closer to him on a personal level, too.

It hit him just as he was watching the tuft of red hair that was buried in cushions. Just like it sometimes happened, when your sleepy brain stumbles over remnants of dreams.

Crackling fire, vanilla-scented warmth, a fuzzy carpet... _and Sehun_.

He had dreamed of Sehun.

And it had felt familiar, too. He had dreamed of Sehun multiple times already.

Just as Chanyeol was lying there, frozen by the realization trickling in, Sehun sighed soundlessly - he seemed to be awake as well - and shuffled closer, until he was resting his forehead against Chanyeol’s shoulder. The move was way too careful and calculated to be performed by someone who was asleep. For a long time, Chanyeol just lay there, listening to his confused heart that was beating erratically.

A little while later, Sehun gave up his pretense and Chanyeol let him believe he'd been successfully fooling him.

 

❀

  
Sometimes, things were so very weird with Sehun. Everything could be fine in one moment, and then take a sharp turn for the worse in the next. It would always happen without warning, and sometimes go on until Chanyeol had completely adjusted the dream, until no trace of the previous scenery was left.

At first, Chanyeol thought tonight was going to be one of those dreams. They were strolling down an alley in a snowy landscape that was miraculously devoid of cold. Above them, the branches and twigs of the two rows of trees were perfectly intertwined, forming a tight net with gaps so small that the thick blanket of snow managed to fill them all.

They had been talking, too. Sometimes, Sehun would not talk much, but on good days like these, he'd tell Chanyeol about the way he saw the world. The discussions were rarely deep - right that moment, Sehun was talking about the lack of snow in his hometown - but Chanyeol soaked up every word he said with rapt attention, maybe a little too much attention, if he was being perfectly honest. It was dangerous terrain, a dream. Way too close to your inner thought processes and emotions. Tricking yourself into being attached to someone was a trap that was all-too easy to fall for.

"Wah, look at this," Chanyeol began, maybe to distract his own emotions, as he looked up at the net shielding them from the equally white, but sunny sky. "It almost looks like a map, don't you think?"

Behind him, Sehun inhaled a sharp breath, and Chanyeol wasted no time looking for him, always ready to spot signs of an upcoming panic attack. Sehun was just standing there, staring upwards in a mixture of daze and fear, a drop of dark liquid running down his cheek. Just as he followed his gaze, he felt it, too. A heavy drop of something hitting his head. His fingers absently sought the wet patch on his otherwise dry hair as he watched the strange, black liquid drip from the branches, slowly drenching the snow around it like a puddle of blood tainting anything around it.

"What _is_ this?" he asked, thoughts cut off by a flash of disgust as he caught some of the remnants from his hair and rubbed it between the pads of his fingers. It was black and sticky, glistening in the indirect sunlight. Sehun actually whimpered, making it very clear that this had to go. Where did it even come from? Chanyeol had had his fair share of nightmares to deconstruct and rearrange, but he'd never seen anything like this.

He fixated his gaze on the net of branches, willing the pure, white snow back.

But nothing happened.

He wasn't perplexed at first - his focus was probably lacking, due to him being caught off guard. In the middle of his second attempt, Sehun started coughing. Starting out small only to get louder, more desperate.

"Sehun? Hey, what's wrong-" he began, reaching out for the other, who flinched away from his touch. He hadn't ever done that before, quite the opposite. Now Sehun was averting his shaking upper body, still viciously coughing into his hand.

More drips of black tainted the ground around them, and a fleeting glance told Chanyeol the black ooze was spreading, darkening the sky while holding on to the ominous glistening consistency of melted enamel.

"Let's leave this place, okay?" he began carefully, touching Sehun on both upper arms to lead him away from the darkness looming above them - it made him nervous. Barely two steps in, the nasty coughing sound turned to actual retching, and Sehun's legs were shaking so hard that it was difficult to keep him upright.

Chanyeol felt his own stomach flip from both disgust and pure fear as he saw the black ooze escape from the spaces between Sehun's fingers. He made a gurgling sound and finally sank to the ground, one hand still desperately clawing at Chanyeol's pant legs, who was panicking.

Sehun was choking on this stuff. Where did it come from, why wouldn't it leave? This was his dream-

-except maybe it wasn't.

"This is your dream, isn't it?" he asked, even though the retching boy was unable to pay him any attention. Another disgustingly wet sound had him spit out more black liquid that wasn't dribbling down in rivulets, but looked like it came out in heavy, thick surges now. It was clearly surreal. This wasn't really happening.

"It's a dream, Sehun. A dream. You don't need to feel like this, just make it stop!" Chanyeol urged him on, falling to his knees beside him. The other only made a pathetic, choked sound that incited the wish to puke in Chanyeol. Then his breath stopped.

And Chanyeol swore his own heart stopped beating, as well.

 

 

✿

  
He awoke with a start and to a retching Sehun beside him. The dim light of the lamp on his bedside table filled the room and a figure was bent over Sehun, currently hitting his back. Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol reached out with his adrenaline-driven, uncoordinated limbs to shake Sehun not too gently, ignoring Kyungsoo's protest.

"There's nothing in your throat, Sehun," he said urgently, fighting against Kyungsoo's insistent hands, "it was just a dream!"

"Are you insane?" Kyungsoo hissed, but there was no stopping Chanyeol. He batted away his roommate's hands and tugged at Sehun's, until he had a firm grip on both of his wrists.

"It was a dream, Sehun, there's nothing trying to choke you," he repeated between clenched teeth, fighting Sehun's desperate struggles. His breath came out ragged, and was still interrupted by minor coughing fits, but he could tell they were slowing down. Realizing that whatever was going on was helping Sehun, Kyungsoo stepped back with his hands lifted, ready to jump back in at any moment.

When Sehun's breathing had calmed down enough to stop threatening hyperventilation, Chanyeol let go of his wrists.

"What was this all about, Sehun?" he asked as calm as possible, but Sehun only shook his head, sparking and inciting the piled up emotions.

"Don't gimme that crap! This was fucking weird, and I demand an explanation!"

"Are you seriously pissed about him almost choking-" Kyungsoo began, only to be cut off by an adamant Chanyeol.

"That's not it! _He_ knows what I'm talking about!"

Sehun only shook his head more viciously, and Chanyeol had to really hold back from shaking _him_.

"This was your dream, wasn't it? Don't even try to play dumb with me, I know you- Kyungsoo, can you please leave us alone for a bit?"

His roommate seemed extremely unconvinced, but when Sehun shot him a weak nod, he complied reluctantly.

"Only ten minutes. If you two try to kill each other, you're done for," he threatened, and both boys sitting on the bed followed him with his eyes until he had slipped on his jacket and left the room. Chanyeol silently counted to five before his gaze flickered back to Sehun, who seemed to shrink under his stare.

"As I said," he began anew, "do not play dumb with me. You know exactly what's going on. You've been in my dreams and you knew it all along, didn't you?"

Sehun hesitated, but if Chanyeol was actually onto something, he never let go until he'd reached clarity. He had known it for a week now. Ever since that fateful morning where Sehun had placed his forehead on Chanyeol's shoulder. It was the first time he'd witnessed this gesture during the day, but not the first time altogether. It wasn't common enough of a gesture for Chanyeol's mind to come up with and be spot on out of pure coincidence. No, Sehun had actually shared his dream, just as consciously as Chanyeol himself, if his current behavior was anything to go by.

"I'm going to ask you again, and I'll ask slowly."

Sehun stubbornly averted his gaze, looking down into his own lap.

"What. Is. Going. On? If you need pen and paper, we can get some for you, no problem."

But Sehun shook his head again, attempting to get up and leave. Chanyeol wouldn't have it, clutching his forearm in a vice-like grip.

"This was your dream. You can't sleep alone because your dreams are like this?"

Sehun couldn't help letting his eyes flit up to meet Chanyeol's, just for a split second. It was proof enough. And Chanyeol had just about enough, as well.

"You came to me to find shelter? Or did you want my help?" he asked, huffing out a laugh of pure disbelief. "Because then maybe you should have said so at some point? You can talk just fine when you're asleep, and you can write me a note, just- _anything_. You could've given me _anything_."

Sehun's arm was weak in his grasp. He wasn't even trying to run anymore; he just stood there in silence, letting Chanyeol's anger rain down on him. It was this passive attitude that angered Chanyeol the most, though. Because he couldn't stop thinking back to how... helpless Sehun had been. How utterly powerless he'd felt for the first time in years. And now he knew why.

"I cannot change _your_ dreams, Sehun," he said urgently, trying to talk reason into him, "I don't have the power to do that. I can help you if you want me to, but you can't win this battle without picking up a weapon."

Sehun ripped his hand free without a warning, stumbling towards the door.

"Fine. You can just run away, too," Chanyeol called after him, voice dripping with sarcasm, "just crawl into another guy's bed - whatever, right? Fucking fine by me!"

Sehun closed the door with an almost insultingly soft click, like he always did, leaving Chanyeol alone to fume.

 

And fume he did. The rest of the night was all restless twisting and turning, vague dreams of black ooze and Kyungsoo being judgmental. But Sehun was nowhere to be seen. Of course not.

 

The following day was spent in a haze of exhaustion, leftover frustration and anger. Predictably enough, Sehun didn't show up in the evening. It was like a confirmation of something Chanyeol lacked the words for. He felt used and tired. But sleep refused to come, or, at the very least, stay for several hours at a time.

 

The second day, Chanyeol had mostly calmed down. And he was starting to look for Sehun around campus. He was nowhere to be found. He didn't show up in the evening, either, and now Chanyeol just felt a pang of disappointment where anger had settled before. He was that easy to replace, wasn't he? In whose bed might he be lying now?

 

On the third day, Chanyeol felt nothing but miserable. The sky was gray, and Chanyeol's senses were dull and strained from the previous, restless night. Kyungsoo's mood was more subdued than usual, too, even though he'd never gotten the full picture. Chanyeol spent the whole day moping around and fighting an inner conflict he finally lost in the late afternoon. With an exasperated sigh, he rolled out of bed to search for Sehun. He was aware of his messy hair and sloppy clothes, but Sehun was the last one to comment on that, he thought to himself as he padded down the hallway. As far as he knew, Sehun lived on the floor above him, in room 0405. Ignoring the elevator, he took the few stairs instead.

He wouldn't apologize. He hadn't done anything wrong in the first place, except using a harsh tone maybe. But he could still offer his help, officially this time. The image of the pale boy choking was too graphic and cruel to be forgotten that easily.

Chanyeol was a person who tended to focus on one thing entirely and blur out the rest of the world with ease. That's why he almost passed by the crumpled body in a corner of the narrow staircase.  
He didn't have to look twice to know it was Sehun. He was too familiar with his lanky build, the bordeaux-colored hair and unmistakably pale skin. It looked like he might have sat with his back to the wall at some point, but had awkwardly slipped to the side, causing him to half-lie on the ground in a twisted, uncomfortable position now.  
Chanyeol rushed to his side, much quicker than his frozen heart and mind should have allowed him to.

"Sehun? Hey. Hey-" he began, carefully shaking his shoulder. To his surprise, the boy reacted immediately, startling into a sitting position, only to wince in pain as his muscles screamed in protest.

"How long have you been sitting here? Did you fall asleep?"

Sehun rubbed his eyes and mewled in a pathetic mix of complaint and negation. He usually wasn't this vocal when awake - but to be fair, he looked everything but awake right now. If Chanyeol felt tired, it was nothing in comparison to the misery radiating off the dark circles on Sehun's face.

"When was the last time you slept?"  
After a long pause, he lifted three fingers. Chanyeol groaned.

"Please tell me that these stand for hours."  
Sehun shook his head. Of course he did.  
With vain complaints lingering on his lips, Chanyeol heaved the boy up to his feet. Sehun seemed inclined to actually struggle, but he hadn't collapsed without a reason.

"You expect me to leave you lying somewhere on the dirty floor?"  
He wasn't waiting for an answer, obviously, and just tugged Sehun along until he'd reached the boy's shared room. A young and obviously Chinese guy opened the door, eyes widening when he got a look at Sehun.  
Together, they dragged the delirious boy inside and lay him down on his bed. That didn't seem to bode well with Sehun, who attempted to get up right away, only to struggle against Chanyeol's palm on his shoulder.

"You need to sleep, Sehun," he said earnestly, "you can't even keep yourself on your feet at this point-"

"He doesn't sleep on his bed," Sehun's roommate threw in with a sigh. He was standing next to them with crossed arms, evidently unsure of what to do. "At least I rarely see him doing so. Sehunnie, you really gotta sleep though. I bet you won't dream when you're this tired."  
But Sehun only made another sound of obvious protest. Chanyeol clucked his tongue in annoyance and carelessly toed his shoes off, to swing his legs over the bed and roll half on top of Sehun, who took it with a mainly confused 'oomph'.

"Really now?!" he heard the roommate ask in exasperation, and without turning towards him, he called out a half-assed "It's not what it looks like", and soon enough, the other was leaving, grumbling something about ungrateful fake friends.

  
Sehun was still pawing at him, but it lacked any vigor or real determination, really. Chanyeol wrapped him up in an embrace, vaguely realizing that they'd never been so close before.

"I won't leave. Let's try to catch some sleep, we both need it."

It didn't even take Sehun a minute to fall asleep with a loose grip on his hoodie. Funny, how he always tried to look so much smaller than he actually was. Chanyeol tried very hard to fall asleep, as well, but it was always difficult to fall asleep under pressure. What was Sehun dreaming without him? Would he even be able to help at all?  
Why was it so hard to shake off the excitement of really _holding_ someone, even in this dire of a situation?

 

❀

  
When Chanyeol's conscious entered the dream, he was part relieved and part anxious. How long had it taken him to fall asleep? Where was Sehun?

He was standing in a rather dark room. If this was only Chanyeol's dream, it would become an exciting exploration of an old, abandoned villa. Everything would be exciting with surprises lurking in every corner. But this time, he felt like this was more Sehun's dream than his. The walls were blank, there were neither carpets nor real furniture, and instead of colorful tapestries he only faced grey stones left and right, below and above him. He felt... foreign. Like this truly wasn't his dream.

A nasty cracking sound echoed through the air, and Chanyeol quickly sought for the source, even though he had a more than just bad feeling about this.

He got the confirmation when he rounded a corner to find Sehun standing in the middle of a rather small room, with his back to him. He was clutching his own, upper arms, nails digging deep into the flesh, though he had yet to draw blood. It was questionable whether Chanyeol would even be able to tell as much though, since the boy looked like he'd taken a walk in their last dream, right through the rain of black goo.

"Sehun?"

A few slow, deliberate steps later he'd approached the shivering boy. He reached out even more slowly, almost afraid to touch and possibly trigger him. But he'd reacted so well to physical contact so far.

"Why did I fall asleep?" he mumbled brokenly, and his breath hitched audibly when Chanyeol's palm touched the place between his shoulder blades. Just a soft touch without any real pressure behind it.

"You were just tired. It's natural," Chanyeol hummed as he let his palms slide up and down Sehun's arms, slowly warming the other up to his presence.

"But I can't sleep. I shouldn't."

Chanyeol used the other's distraction to snake his arms around his waist, clasping them over his stomach and placing his chin on Sehun's shoulder. It was an attempt at sharing his own calm, but with the way the other was obviously trembling, he wasn't sure whether it was working.

"I thought because you can shape dreams, you could keep it away easily," Sehun muttered, and Chanyeol saw him chew on his lips from the corner of his vision.

"Keep _what_ away?"

Sehun stilled almost completely. It happened in a flash, scaring the hell out of him. Then he looked up towards the ceiling, lips parting way before the word managed to get out.

"That."

Chanyeol followed his gaze, only to see long, deep cracks along the walls. Cracks harboring more of the dark, sticky liquid that was already beginning to lazily drip down the wall. Despite knowing better, Chanyeol felt a twinge of fear at the sight.

"And... what _is_ that?" he asked carefully as they both watched the almost harmless-looking substance that made the cracks look like open wounds.

"It's been there since I was a kid," Sehun said quietly, barely above a whisper. As if it could hear him. Chanyeol gently ran his palms up and down his side and stomach. So he'd been having torturous dreams like that for years?

"That didn't quite answer my question though," he said softly, never ceasing the motions, "it's much easier to control something you know the name of."

"I know what it is," Sehun said shakily, placing a hand over Chanyeol's to hold on tightly.

Chanyeol made a questioning sound, and for the first time ever, dreaming Sehun opened his lips, only to hesitate and ultimately not get the words out.

Chanyeol hurried to relent.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me. You just have to know it yourself-"

A loud crack had Sehun jump in his hold.

"-so you can be certain that there's no reason to be afraid. Dreams are just dreams, Sehun, you said so yourself. You can make a change."

"I can't. I'm not like you, I don't have control over any of this, it just comes and drowns me and-"

"That's not a good attitude. Everyone can change their dreams. You just need to be really in tune with yourself," Chanyeol protested, and another crack burst through the stone, sending the black ooze to splatter out, barely missing them. He could sense that Sehun was nearing a panic attack, could feel it in his irregular breathing. Before he could make another attempt at calming him, a wide crack wandered from the wall across the ceiling like a lazy bolt of thunder, sending a thick stream out. Sehun pressed closer to him and away from it. What was it that he saw in this scenario? Chanyeol couldn't know. The only thing he did know was that this stuff was disgusting, and in the semi-darkness, it looked way too much like blood.

Sehun was pressing against him with a sense of desperate urgency now, but Chanyeol wouldn't budge, keeping him right in the middle of the room, still hugging him from behind. He looked down at the puddle inching closer from over Sehun's shoulder, brows furrowed unhappily.

 _No, you stay right there_ , he thought. And it it worked. At a hand width distance, the black goo stopped spreading, as if it had met an invisible wall. Sehun stared at it in wary fascination, both hands now clutching Chanyeol's over his stomach.

"You can do it, after all," he breathed out in fearful wonder, and Chanyeol nudged his cheek with his nose.

"I can decide what happens to me in my dreams. And I don't want this near me. But I can't make it go away. Only you can do that."

Sehun was about to shake his head when Chanyeol nudged his cheek more insistently, due to his lack of unoccupied hands.

"You can. Take your time, just try. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here, holding onto you. I'll give you the time, and I can support you. You just fight without worrying about anything."

Sehun laughed silently, as if 'fighting' was a word he didn't think he could pay justice to.

The laugh got stuck in his throat when a crack widened dramatically, and a stream of liquid gushed out-

-and turned into white flower petals, wildly fluttering around only to get stuck in the remaining ooze.

"Yes!" Chanyeol cheered, pecking the other’s cheek in a fit of emotion. Sehun twisted his head to shoot him a scandalized look Chanyeol didn't even notice.

"Just like that," he said instead, nodding at the mass of black streaming down the walls and collecting on the floor, "keep going just like that."

"I-I don't know how I did it though," Sehun muttered, eyes roaming their surroundings anxiously, "it just caught me off guard and then it-"

Chanyeol placed another, slightly harder peck on his skin, this time to his jawline. The liquid closest to their feet turned into a pile of loose, white blossoms, and Chanyeol grinned in triumph.

"See?" he called over Sehun's faint protest, "you can do it!"

Sehun didn't say another word, and for a moment, Chanyeol feared he might have to worry about him, but the boy only looked around the room, until his gaze landed on the petals.

"I _can_ do it," he whispered, sounding less panicked and almost thoughtful, though his hands had never stopped gripping Chanyeol's tight enough to leave marks. "I can actually change them."

"Flower petals, huh?" Chanyeol asked, nuzzling into his shoulder as he watched cascades of white petals slowly taking over. They didn't transform slowly or showy, for this was a dream. Sehun's mind wanted a result, not a visual leading there. His bright orbs were trained on the rivulets of black that turned to white, on the cracks that were not filled with black blood anymore and instead had petals bursting out of them.

"They were the first dream you showed me."

It happened slowly yet instantly, the way dreams tended to tease time occasionally. Gone was all the black, exchanged for pure white petals. Sehun's breathing slowed down and he finally let go of Chanyeol in favor of kneeling down to touch the soft blossoms. Chanyeol looked around the odd, gray room full of cracks that were overflowing with flower petals. What an odd dream to be in. Then again, Sehun was rather odd himself.

"One day," Sehun began very silently, as if this was becoming less of a dream and scooting closer to reality, "I'd like to show you a dream, too."

"Oh?" Chanyeol asked, kneeling down next to him which cause the other to look up shyly. "Why wait? You can show me anything right now."

Sehun thought about this, absently toying with the petals in his hand.

"Well, what do you like?" he finally asked, and Chanyeol smiled.

"Show me whatever you want to see," he said, making himself comfortable on the ground as if preparing to stay like this for awhile. "What do you want to see the most, Sehun?"

"Me?"

For a split-second, his eyes flit around the gray room, before a smile spread across his whole expression. It started out slow and hesitant, but soon bloomed vividly, brightening his face with childlike, genuine excitement.

"A castle," he said, and his eyes twinkled with the firm certainty that he could change his dreams. Chanyeol felt infected by his sudden burst of energy and playfully covered his eyes, waiting for the surprise to be ready. It didn't take longer than a second - it shouldn't, really, not if you were determined - and then there was a low voice whispering into his ear.

"A castle made out of nothing but wind and water."  
He closed his eyes even beneath his palm, to fully focus on his voice.

  
“Nothing but crystal-clear, clean water,” Sehun added pensively, and for once, it was him touching Chanyeol in an almost reassuring, grounding way with both hands resting on his upper arms. It was nice, actually discovering this side of Sehun. He still didn't know what about black, dark liquid was setting him off. Whether it was about a past accident or simply his mind developing an ugly, psychological ulcer he didn't know how to fight.

Either way, clear water seemed to soothe the burn left behind. It wasn't surprising, thinking back to the way he had approached the gentle waves of the ocean, despite his deeply-rooted fear. Whatever this was, Sehun had been equal parts drawn in and terrified. He'd been forced into a corner when all it took to fight was the reassurance of someone backing him up. There was still so much to discover about Sehun, and a brief moment of realization granted Chanyeol with the insight that his fascination was running way too deep to be casual.

“What do you think?”

Chanyeol removed his hand and opened his eyes to be faced with cerulean sky and vivid green far below. He could see it through the transparent walls and ground, all made of water. It could have looked like glass, but this castle they were sitting in wasn't hard, cold or dead. The water was alive, a subtle movement running through the surface below Chanyeol's curious palm. It was such a fragile construct, just a thin layer of water being kept together by nothing but Sehun's fresh confidence, though the fact that Chanyeol felt perfectly safe surely added to the security.

He carefully scooped up a few of the remaining petals, breaking the watery surface that recovered quickly. On his palm, the petals turned pink.

“I think you should invite me to your dreams more often,” Chanyeol said, blowing them at Sehun to watch them land on his clothes and stick to his hair. Sehun whined as his fingers felt for the blossoms in his hair – but he couldn't hide his smile any longer when he'd found one to drop on Chanyeol's messy hair in turn. Chanyeol caressed the petal between the pads of his fingers, dearly wishing he could at least take this one with him and into reality. But dreams were just dreams. He led it up to his lips, just yearning to touch, to add a clearer memory. Sehun's eyes were glued to the movement, glued to his lips, and for a moment, a tremble rippled through the water.

Chanyeol blinked up at him, and with a smile, he placed the petal aside to playfully pull Sehun down with him, so they could look up into the sky. Next to each other, on a thin Layer of water that was cooling their skin, they looked up into the sky through the crystal clear ceiling that was toying with the bright sunrays, throwing a net of light over them. And Chanyeol felt perfectly sheltered in this scenery that hadn't originated from his own mind.

 

 

✿

  
  
Chanyeol really wasn't a morning person, but that morning, he awoke to an odd, pleasant buzz. And to an immediate warmth. Waking up next to someone familiar really was nice, though it was ten times better when he could cuddle said person. And when a warm, lazy body would press back against him, seeking his affection and unknowingly replying with his own. His mind was just starting to catch up on the fact that he was fully clothed, when the warmth moved until a pair of lips tickled the shell of his ear. He shivered.

"Good morning."

It was a whisper, the faintest of whispers, and it chased a surge of goosebumps down Chanyeol's entire upper arm, only to spread to his lungs and head. It was the same. The voice really was the same.

Instinctively, Chanyeol tightened the arm he'd thrown around a slim waist, tugging him in closer and reveling in the way Sehun's breath hitched ever so slightly.

Chanyeol wasn't expecting any more from Sehun right now. He was caught by surprise when warm lips wandered up to find his ear again, brushing his skin in a way that Chanyeol would like to think wasn't entirely accidental. And then it was back - the tiny, tiny voice that was a breathy promise of its dreamy counterpart.

"This is my bed, you know?"  
Chanyeol grinned, before he blindly reached up to flick his forehead.

  
  


 


End file.
